Sign mounting



R. L. LISLE SIGN MOUNTING Oct. 14, 1952 Filed Dec. 16, 1950 Rage-R Z.l/SLE IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert L.Lisle, Dallas, Tex. Application December 16, 1950, SerialNo. 201,153

This invention relates to supporting devices for signs and the like andit has particular reference to a friction mounting adapted to supportwarning signs on vehicles.

The principal object of the invention is to pro- 3 Claims. (Cl.40---125) vide a simple mounting adapted to be attached, 1

for example, to the bumper of an automobile or to the catwalk of arailroad car, to receive and frictionally hold the supporting legs orprongs of a frame on which is removably disposed a sign specifying theexplosive or inflammable nature of the materials hauled by the vehicleon which the sign is mounted.

Another object of the invention is to provide afriction'mounting forsigns and other devices, consisting of a housing having therein a springbiased and beveled disc or washer against which the prongs of the signframe are urged when passed through apertures extending diametricallythrough the walls of the housing thus to compress the spring which, inturn, urges the washer frictionally against the prongs of the sign frameto preclude too ready withdrawal of the prongs from the housing.

With the foregoing objects in view, the invention has further referenceto certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a sign frame and mountingconstructed according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View on a slightly larger scale taken on line2-2 of Figure 3, and

Figure 3 is a view in transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawing, referencenumeral ID denotes generally a frame which may be of any desired shapebut in its present form, the frame is composed of a length of wire ill,intercrossed and welded at l2, beyond which the ends of the wire areturned into parallelism to define prongs l3, the ends M of which arepointed. A sign N3 of expendable material is applied to the frame I l inany desired manner and, in keeping with the beveled housing of theinvention, the sign bears indicia adapted to identify the nature of themerchandise transported by the vehicle on which the sign is mounted.Trucks and railroad tank cars in which is shipped Naphtha or otherinflammable or explosive commodities are required by law to carrywarning signs. The present invention provides an inexpensive and simplemedium for supporting such signs.

The mounting for the sign consists of a hous ing generally indicated byreference numeral l6, as shown, this housing consists of twotelescopically related, cup shaped sections 11 and 18, the section [8being the inner of the two sections and is held in fixed relation to theouter section as by sweating 'or spot welding at 19. The inner section58 is shorter than its companion section ll, thus to provide an annularspace adapted to be occupied by a washer 2 0. The washer or pressureplate 20 has an annular bevel 2i on its outer face and bearing againstthe inner face of the washer is the outer end of a coil spring 22, theopposite end of the spring resting against the bottom of the innerhousing section Id. The described arrangement is such that spring 22,normally under compression, exerts a force tending to move the washer 20outwardly toward the outer end of housing 46.

The outer housing section I! is drilled to provide, on each side of asquare central opening 23, axially aligned passages M which are adaptedto receive the prongs 13 of the sign frame H. The pointed ends M of theprongs first enter the top openings 24 and are brought into engagementwith the bevel 2i of the washer 28 and, through a. wedging action,depress the washer rearwardly against the resistance of the coil spring22. The

prongs continue downwardly through the lower openings or passageways 24and out of the housing, in the manner shown. Thus, the prongs l3 arefrictionally held in the described relationship with the housing, bypressure imposed by the washer or pressure plate 20 through the actionof spring 22. The prongs are thereby held against too ready release fromthe housing 18.

The cross-member 25 is welded to the prongs 13 which serve as a mediumby which the prongs may be thrust into their respective openings 24 inthe housing It and to enable the prongs to be more easily withdrawn whenit becomes necessary to detach the sign frame from its mounting for thereplacement or changing of the sign l5.

The opening 23 in the center of the outer housing section I! ispreferably square to receive a correspondingly shaped shoulder 26 formedunder the head 21 of a mounting bolt 28, thus to prevent rotation of thebolt 28 with respect to the housing IS. The bolt 28 extends through anopening 29 in the washer 20, thence through the spring 22 and to anopening 30 in the center of the inner housing section l8. The inner endof the bolt 28 is threaded and adapted to be passed through an openingin the supporting member 3|, which may be the bumper of a truck or aportion of the catwalk on a railroad car. A look washer 32 and a nut 35are mounted on the threaded end of the bolt 28 to hold the same and thehousing IS in fixed relationship to the supporting member 3 I.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of somemodification and such modification as may be construed to fall withinthe scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to beWithin the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A sign frame mounting comprising a housing having aligned openings inits front and rear, a beveled member movably disposed in the frontportion of said housing, compression means nor' mally urging saidbeveled member toward the front portion of said housing, said housinhaving adjacent its front portion and on each side of the firstmentioned openings, diametrically opposed passageways, a sign framehaving parallel prongs adapted to be received in said passageways todisplace said beveled member against the resistance of said compressionmeans and means extending through said aligned openings of said housingfor holding the latter on a supporting member.

2. In a sig frame and mounting, parallel prongs formed on said frame, ahousing in two relatively fixed cup-shaped sections, one Within theother and defining an annular space internally of the other of saidsections at the inner end of the companion section, said sections having aligned axial openings, said outer section having a transverseopening on each side of its axial opening to receive said prongs, abeveled member within said annular space, a coil spring within saidcompanion section for holding said beveled member normally in frictionalengagement with said prongs and means extending through the alignedaxial openings of said housing sections for securing said mounting to asupporting member.

3. In a sign frame and mounting, a housing, parallel prongs formed onsaid sign frame and extending through transversely aligned passagewaysin the walls of said housing, a. pressure plate removably disposed insaid housing provided with a beveled face confronting the transversepassageways in said housing and against which the ends of said prongsengage to effect displacement of said pressure plate by said prongs intheir course through said transverse passageways, spring means in saidhousing normally urging said pressure plate into frictional engagementwith said prongs to hold the latter against longitudinal displacement insaid housing, a crossmember affixed to said prongs for manipulating thesame into and out of said housing, and means extending axially throughsaid housing for holding the same on a supporting member.

ROBERT L. LISLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

